Devi Sunuwar, mother of Maina Sunuwar, a ‘Maoist girl’ who died in a Royal Nepalese Army (RNA) barrack in Kavre, in February 2004, in mysterious circumstances, has said she is going to file a writ petition at the Supreme Court against the RNA’s ‘cosmetic action’ taken against three of its officers involved in her death.

The mother of fifteen year old Maina Sunuwar, a Maoist girl who died in army custody in Panchkhal (click for story), at a press conference organised by Defend Human Rights Movement-Nepal, demanding the guilty army officers be tried before a civilian court, Monday, Oct 03 05.

At a press conference in Lalitpur on Monday, Devi said her 15-year-old girl lost her life for no obvious fault of her own and that she would “challenge the army at the court for its nominal action to those involved in the extra-judicial killing.”

Her announcement comes at a time the RNA has courted controversy following its statement that it handed down six-month jail term – along with temporary suspension of their promotion – to Colonel Babi Khatri and two junior officers involved in the case. The army had also said the three officers were kept in army custody when the investigation on the case was going on at the military court.

In a statement on Saturday, the army also denied comments of some human rights groups including the US-based Human Rights Watch (HRW) that the action taken against the guilty officers was insufficient and it was nothing more than a ‘cosmetic gesture’.